Four in five Irish Americans have traced their roots

We are pleased to release the results of our second reader survey of IrishCentral.com. Once again we are delighted that close to 2,000 of you responded, showing a great interest in your roots. The survey was conducted with Amarach Research, one of Ireland’s top market research companies.

Here are the summarized findings:

ANCESTRY AND ROOTS

19% of you do not know what part of Ireland your ancestors hailed from.

For those who do :

·17% of you have roots in County Cork, with the proximity to Cobh where the ships left from making emigration an easier option for those living there.

·9% have roots in County Mayo and 8% have roots in County Donegal.

·7% of ancestry traces back to County Galway and 6% to County Clare.

TRACING YOUR ANCESTRY:

Over four in five (84%) of you have tried to trace their Irish Ancestry. The majority (40%) have gone online to undertake the search, while more than one-quarter (28%) travelled to Ireland to undertake the research.

· 4 in 5 (80%) have a strong interest in Irish American history, with the topics of music and art of highest interest.

THE IRISH GENERAL ELECTION

One third (37%) of Irish Americans we surveyed feel well informed about the political and economic situation in Ireland.

Emigrant Voting

·Close to 2 in 4 (39%) believe that Irish emigrants should be allowed to vote in the next General election. A similar proportion agrees that emigrants should be allowed to vote in the Irish Presidential election.